A Quiet Life
by kittyfantastico
Summary: *COMPLETE* Set 4 years in the future. Syd and Vaughn are married. SD-6 is gone and Syd is now a teacher, but what will happen when the CIA decides they want her back?
1. Bored

OK, this is my first ever fic and I'm really not very confident about it so please, please review!! Also, I'm a UK viewer and this is set 4 years in the future, from Cipher which is the last ep I saw.  
  
Sydney Vaughn rolled over in bed and stretched lazily. She had only just woken up and already she was having a good day. It was the first day of the summer holidays and it felt good to be able to lie in bed instead of getting up at her usual early hour. She loved teaching the seven to eight- year-olds she was in charge of but it was also nice to have some time to herself. Sunlight streamed in through a gap in the curtains and bounced off the photo frames on the bookshelf, making light dance on the ceiling above Sydney's head. She glanced at the clock on the table next to her bed. 11:05. Was it really that late? "I must have been really tired," she thought. It would make sense. The previous night, she and her husband Michael had gone out to a restaurant with their friend Eric Weiss. It had been a great evening and after the meal Weiss had come back to Sydney and Vaughn's house and the three of them had stayed up talking and laughing until the early hours of the morning. By the time Weiss had left, Sydney and Vaughn were so tired that they had been unable to keep their eyes open for a minute longer. "Those two are gonna be so tired at work today," she thought, smiling to herself as she got out of bed and went to take a shower.  
  
After her shower, Sydney made herself some toast and sat down in front of the TV. She casually flicked through the channels: a boring-looking documentary, a cooking show, an old black and white movie, another cooking show. It suddenly occurred to her how quiet the house was. She and Vaughn were both usually at work during the day, and she was rarely at home when he was not. She decided to make the most of it; only a few years ago she would have been so thankful to get just one day like this. When she had been a double agent for the CIA any free time she got was spent with Will and Francie, to make up for all the times when she had to cancel arrangements and walk out on them. She never had to feel that guilt anymore, the principal of the little school at which she taught never called her and told her she was flying off around the world in less than three hours. There was also the fact that Principal Croft was not a merciless killer. She shuddered at the memory of Arvin Sloane and all the misery he had caused her. Since the destruction of SD-6 and the Alliance three years ago, Sloane had been held in CIA custody, where Irina Derevko was also still being held. Four years had passed since Irina had handed herself over to the CIA, but Sydney still felt that she was not to be trusted and, although she no longer had a say in CIA-related matters, Jack Bristow knew that his daughter did not want her to be released. Jack himself did not want to see Irina released anymore than his daughter and her husband did and as a result of many heated arguments with Kendall, Irina was kept a prisoner. She was viewed with much less contempt than she had, at first, been treated with and her vast knowledge of people she had dealt with in the past was proving to be very useful.  
  
Sydney picked up a book and spent the next two hours lost in another world. Reading made her forget everything and concentrate on the people in the book and their problems. It always had done, and it had lifted her momentarily from depression many times during her life at SD-6. But now she was happy. She had the life she had dreamed of for years but, if she was completely honest with herself, she was bored. She had imagined that being married to Vaughn and teaching children would be perfect and, in a way, it was. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe everything was too perfect. Briefly, she wondered what life would be like if she had carried on working for the CIA after they had taken down SD-6. They had wanted her to. Then she shook her head and realised how stupid she was being. If she had stayed at the CIA she would never have been free to be with Vaughn. A few months before they had destroyed SD-6, Sydney and Vaughn had finally admitted that they loved each other. They had kept their relationship a secret, and not being allowed to kiss or hold hands or even talk in public had been very hard on both of them. Although she wouldn't give up Vaughn for anything in the world, she thought it would make a change if something actually happened in her life. She laughed out loud as soon as she thought that. She couldn't believe the thought that she had an uneventful life had even crossed her mind. She had been living in a state of blissful happiness for the past three years and she wasn't about to let a bit of boredom make her think otherwise.  
  
She reached for the phone and dialled Francie's number at the restaurant.  
  
"Hello?" said Francie's voice on the other end. "Hi, it's me," said Sydney "Oh, hey Syd," Francie said absently. "Hang on a minute" "Okay." Sydney heard Francie talking to someone in the background. "Just do it yourself, I'm on the phone!" Sydney laughed. "You sound like you have a bit of trouble there" she said. "Yeah," Francie sighed. "We're having a few problems.one of the ovens kinda blew up and now the kitchen's filled with smoke." Sydney couldn't help laughing but managed to stop when Francie protested. "Hey, it's not funny! How would you like to have a restaurant full of angry customers?" Francie sounded surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing. "You're right.I'm sorry.it's just the way you said it." Sydney broke down into laughter again at the thought of her friend standing in a smoke- filled kitchen trying to re-assure customers that they would get a meal sometime that day. "I'm sure you'll see the funny side of it later," she said, once she had managed to control her laughter. "Probably. I think I'm needed now. I'll see you later, okay?" "Okay," Sydney said and then added "good luck" as an afterthought. She put down the phone and sat back on the couch.  
  
Bored now that Francie had returned to consoling her restaurant full of angry customers, Sydney picked up her book and began to read again. After reading a few lines, she put it down again and switched the TV on. It was evidently time for the daily dose of cheaply made sit-coms so Sydney soon grew bored of flicking through the channels. Just as she was beginning to give up on trying to find things to do, she heard Vaughn's car pull up outside. She looked up at the clock in surprise; she had no idea how she'd managed to pass the day so quickly. Soon she heard the key in the door and jumped to give her surprised husband an enthusiastic hug before he was halfway through the door. "Hey, it's great to see you too!" he joked. Sydney smiled half apologetically. "I've just had a really boring day," she said, kicking the door shut before kissing him gently. After a while she pulled away from him and grinned. "Wanna make it better?" "Not now, Syd," he said gently pushing her away from him. "There's something I need to talk to you about." Sydney was worried by the seriousness in his voice. "What is it?" she asked, concerned. "It's the CIA.well, Kendall really." Vaughn trailed off, unsure of how to say what he had been more or less ordered to. He looked down at the ground and then back up at Sydney. She looked scared. He decided to get it over with. "They.they want you to come back."  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Answers

OK, I know this chapter's not very good but I've been struggling with what to write in it for a few days so I figured I'd just start writing and see what happened. Anyways, I have some ideas for what's going to happen in future chapters and I really want to write it but I had to deal with the stuff in this chapter first.  
  
Thanks for the reviews, in answer to someone's question: no, as far as Francie is concerned, Sydney used to work in a bank.  
  
Here it is, enjoy. . .  
  
"What. . . why? I don't understand. . ." Sydney managed weakly before sinking down into a chair. "What the hell do they want to see me for?"  
  
"Sydney, they don't just want to see you," Vaughn said gently. "They want you to work for them - I mean us - again" Somehow, it felt wrong to be referring to himself as a part of the organization that wanted to ruin Sydney's life again, but it also felt weird to refer to the CIA as "them". Actually, it felt weird to be referring to the CIA at all. Since Sydney had left to pursue a career in teaching, the CIA was rarely mentioned between them. It wasn't that Sydney wasn't interested in her husband's work - she was, she was interested in absolutely everything about him - it was just that she'd rather forget about her previous life, when almost everything had been a lie.  
  
By now, Sydney had calmed down enough to make a coherent response, although she could only manage a stunned "But why? Why now? It doesn't make sense!"  
  
"I don't know why, sweetie. I wish I could answer all your questions but I just can't. I was simply told to tell you this." Vaughn regarded Sydney sadly. They had been so happy these last few years, and now the CIA was going to make everything complicated again. Of course, that would only happen if Sydney decided to work there again. He knew she would refuse, at first. But he also thought that there must be something really huge happening for them to ask her back after all this time. She had been so adamant that she never wanted to go back there after they had taken down SD- 6. Vaughn was surprised that the CIA would dare to ask her to come back after what she had said to a room full of self-satisfied directors and senior operatives ("The day I never have to see this place or any of you again will be the best day of my life, so don't even think about asking me to do anything for you now, after all the misery and lies I've suffered because of working for you").  
  
"When do they want me to go in?" Sydney said, with a sigh. As much as she didn't want to know, she knew that she needed answers and that the only way she was going to get them would be asking Kendall herself. While she was there, Sydney decided, she would reinforce the fact that she was not just a tool, to be used as and when they decided they needed her, she was a person and a person who did not work for the CIA in any way, shape or form.  
  
"Now," Vaughn said quietly.  
  
Ten minutes later, Sydney and Vaughn were sitting in silence while Vaughn drove them to CIA headquarters. As they drove along the all-too-familiar route, Sydney grew more and more quiet. She stared vacantly out of the window, watching children playing in the street in the fading light of day. It made her sad to see them. They were all so happy, none of them realised the kind of things that happened, that organizations like SD-6 really did exist. Vaughn glanced over at her. He reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. Sydney smiled at him weakly. "Why am I so worried about this?" she thought, "CIA does not automatically equal bad" She was trying to reassure herself but she did not know why. She knew that her response to any pleading, begging or even threatening (although, this being the CIA, she did not think threatening was too likely to happen) would be a flat refusal.  
  
Eventually, Vaughn parked the car and looked over at his wife. "You ready for this?" he asked. Sydney sighed inwardly and nodded. She got out of the car and together they walked into the building. Vaughn took Sydney's hand and led her to Kendall's office.  
  
"Ah, Mrs Vaughn," he said, with a smile, as Sydney and Vaughn approached his desk. Sydney returned his smile with a cold stare and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"I gather your husband has informed you of our request?"  
  
"Yes," she replied icily.  
  
"But he didn't tell you why?"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Are all your answers going to be monosyllabic?"  
  
"Well, that depends," she said, in the same frosty tone. "Are you going to tell me what's going on and why the hell you think you can just break into my life when it suits you?"  
  
"Fair enough. You're entitled to your anger, I suppose," Kendall replied smoothly, in a voice that said 'You may think you're in control here, but you will do what I want' and this only served to increase Sydney's indignation. "But I think you may be interested in what I have to say," he continued, this time in a more friendly tone, which was not heard very often, if ever. There was a few seconds pause while Sydney considered the situation.  
  
"Go ahead," she conceded. Kendall took a deep breath and regarded Sydney seriously.  
  
"As you know, all documents related to the Alliance were destroyed along with the Alliance itself three years ago." He paused, as if waiting for a response, but Sydney decided not to give him to satisfaction of appearing to be 'on the edge of her seat' and remained silent. "We have gained intel which leads us to believe that not all the information regarding a particular branch of the Alliance, SD-1, was destroyed. When the Alliance was being formed, there was an extra member. His name was Henry Lloyd. There was a dispute among the members, it seems that Lloyd was opposed to some of their proposed actions. He was 'dealt with' to quote Arvin Sloane," Kendall inflicted the name of the former SD-6 Director with as much contempt as was humanly possible "but it seems that whatever method of 'dealing' with him they used was not effective enough. All this happened years ago, of course, and as there have been no reported sightings of him, nothing involving him whatsoever since then, in time he was forgotten about. But now, money deposited in an account known only to the original members has gone missing. Sloane believes that Lloyd may be involved."  
  
Sydney's eyes grew wider as she listened to her world being turned upside down all over again.  
  
To be continued. . . 


	3. Frustration and Flashbacks

Sorry it's taking me so long to update every time. I've had loads of schoolwork recently, and it's been so hard to find the time to write. Anyway, please, please review!!! It will (hopefully) make me write faster if I know people are actually interested. Also, I don't know if many people are actually reading this and if it's worth carrying on with it.  
  
Sydney sighed exasperatedly and pushed her hair out of her eyes for the millionth time that hour. She tapped her fingers restlessly on the desk and stared blankly at nothing and everything at the same time. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up at her husband's smiling face. She smiled back, genuinely pleased to see him, although her pleasure at his presence was lessened by her own frustration. She sighed again and, immediately concerned, Vaughn asked her what she was upset about. Sydney smiled; his concern and love for her was evident in his eyes and she was always amazed at how sweet he was, how he always worried for her.  
  
"I'm not getting anywhere! This is just pointless and a waste of my time, - the CIA's time. I need to be out on a mission. . . or something. Anything that doesn't involve this desk would be great." She sighed again and picked up the list of people the CIA thought would have information about Lloyd.  
  
"And you will be. As soon as there's something that requires a mission, you'll be on it. I promise."  
  
"Well, it'd better happen soon 'cause I'm hopeless at this." There was a slight pause, and then Sydney added something she never imagined herself saying. "We need Marshall."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
It had been like this for the past week. Sydney had agreed to work for the CIA and they had had her sitting in front of a computer screen the whole time. She was intelligent and could use a computer for everyday functions such as emailing friends and hacking into organizations like SD-6's systems to alter data and subsequently bring destruction to the company (she almost laughed out loud at the thought of this as an everyday function) but this was different. She had been given a list of people and had been told to find out about them. She hadn't known where to start! As much as she had hated working for SD-6, at least it had never been boring. It sounded childish, but at that moment in time she would have preferred to be in an exotic location risking her life (because, let's face it, who wouldn't?) than stuck at this desk, hour after hour, day after day. What she wanted was to be doing something active, to be on a mission. But there was nowhere to go and nothing to retrieve, no one to interrogate and nothing to ask. Tired, and now with a headache from staring at the computer screen, Sydney began to think of the events which persuaded her to rejoin the CIA. . .  
  
~*~ Flashback ~*~  
  
"Syd, are you sure you wanna go through with this?" She heard Vaughn's voice, but he sounded far away from her and his words didn't register in her mind. "Syd?" She knew, rather than heard, that he sounded worried. "I'm fine," she replied automatically. She knew her voice was weak and unconvincing. She turned her head towards him and looked him in the eyes. "I'm fine," she repeated, this time more firmly, as if she believed it.  
  
They stopped in front of the bars, which lifted up to allow them to progress. With every step, Sydney was becoming more and more unsure of her feelings. What had possessed her to do this? It was insane. No, she told herself, it's something I need to do. With this thought in mind, she turned once more to Vaughn and smiled bravely. No words were necessary, he understood her completely. He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled back. He let his hand brush down her arm as he turned around with a last comforting smile and then walked away, back to work. He did not look around; he knew that Sydney would be watching him, still unsure of her own strength, and willing him to come back. But he also knew that this was something she needed to do by herself, something that she would question herself about afterwards if he had been there. The decision had to be hers, and hers alone.  
  
Hands shaking slightly, Sydney forced herself to keep walking. She came to the second set of bars and waited while they lifted up, clanking and slow. Each clank sounded heavier than the one before, and there was a certain real-ness about the sound, which awoke Sydney to the fact that she was not dreaming. Until then, everything had had a dream-like quality. Sounds had been distant, colours had been fuzzy and had blended the world into a dull black-and-white reality. She continued walking, a new determination firmly set in her mind. She passed a cell, with a glass wall at the front. She glanced in and almost stopped dead when she saw its inhabitant. Arvin Sloane. Something deep inside her told her she must not look at him, she must not appear affected. She walked on, trying to keep her pace the same, but her heart was beating fast and her mind was racing. She had not seen him since that sunny day, when he had been dragged out of his office and had given Sydney an appalled look as he passed her. The corridor seemed longer than she remembered it, and she did not seem to be getting any nearer the end of it. She could feel Sloane's stare penetrating her back and it sent chills down her spine. What was he thinking? She longed to look at him, as if somehow that would help her to read his mind. If she worked for the CIA would she have to talk to him? Would she have to interrogate him? Did he still think of her as a daughter? She shuddered inwardly at the memory of all the times he had shown affection for her. No, of course he didn't. She had ruined him; he wouldn't hesitate to kill her if he had the chance. Her mind buzzed with questions and thoughts. It was overwhelming.  
  
Seconds later she felt sick. She stopped in front of the cell holding Irina Derevko. A wave of emotion flooded over her as her mother turned around. Memories, hatred, sympathy. Her feelings regarding Irina were still so confused. She thought of her childhood, Michael's childhood, the people Irina had killed and she felt hatred. But then she thought of the way Irina had helped her and the way in which Jack had talked of her as if she was hardly human, and she felt nothing but sympathy for the woman who was, when all was said and done, her mother. She felt guilty that she could feel anything but contempt for Irina but she knew she couldn't help it. Each emotion was so strong, and in that first minute of being in her mother's presence, hate and love, and guilt and sympathy fought for control of her. It was too intense, her mind and heart were drowning in emotions and Sydney sank to the floor in tears. Without knowing it, she pressed her hand against the glass and Irina, who in that moment, felt nothing but love for her little girl, knelt down on the other side of the glass partition and tapped the glass gently with a finger.  
  
"Why are you here?" she asked softly.  
  
"I don't know," Sydney managed between the sobs which racked her body.  
  
"Don't cry. Shhhh, it's okay. The answer will come to you when the time is right." Sydney looked up, her surprise evident on her face and halting her sobs.  
  
"How did you know?" she whispered.  
  
"Sydney, I am your mother. I know you, whether you like it or not."  
  
Sydney opened her mouth to protest, to scream "No! You don't know me at all! You don't. . . you don't" but she didn't have the energy.  
  
"I know you have come looking for answers, because you have never, and will never, come to see me for any other reason." There it was again. Guilt. "No, Sydney, don't feel guilty. She handed herself over to CIA remember? This was her choice and she deserves to be locked up," Sydney thought quickly to keep herself from collapsing again.  
  
"Mom. . . I'm a teacher." She didn't know why she said it, but for some reason, she wanted Irina to know that she had done something good with her life. She had achieved something she wanted. So why was she considering giving it up?  
  
She knew the moment she passed Sloane's cell on her way out. Irina had merely smiled and nodded at Sydney's announcement and then had moved to the back of the cell and began meditating. Sydney took that as her cue to leave and got up shakily. As she passed Sloane's cell, she felt the questions rushing at her again. She quickened her pace, no longer caring what he thought, just desperate to get outside, away from the darkness. Wrong move.  
  
"Sydney," he called out. She clenched her fists and turned around.  
  
"Sloane," she said, managing to keep her voice level and devoid of any emotion.  
  
"I see you're still working for the CIA," he said. There was a hint of venom in his voice that Sydney had never heard before. She was not surprised at it.  
  
"Actually, I. . ." Sloane cut her off before she could finish the sentence.  
  
"I'm surprised they haven't sent you to interrogate me yet," he observed casually, as if commenting on a football game.  
  
"You wouldn't have told me anything." She stated.  
  
"Well, that is true. Sydney, I was so surprised at you. I thought I could trust you more than anyone, except perhaps your father. He was another shock. But you, Sydney, you always seemed to love your work at SD-6, and you were so good at it." He smiled at her and Sydney wanted to run. There was something in that smile, something evil and sinister. She had seen it many times before and had grown to hate it and fear it. Accompanied by the words he had just spoken to her, it was extremely disturbing. Sydney could not for a moment believe that Sloane really felt this relaxed about SD-6 and her involvement in its destruction. His last statement that Sydney had enjoyed working for him produced the desired effect, both for Sloane and for the CIA. Sloane succeeded in provoking a terror and rage so great that Sydney told him exactly what she thought of him (to see that he still had power over her, despite being behind a glass wall was enough to satisfy him for the moment) and the CIA were pleased when immediately afterwards, Sydney turned around and marched off to tell Kendall that she agreed to work for them again.  
  
~*~ End flashback ~*~  
  
She could still remember the exact look on Sloane's face that day and it still made her angry. She had since realised that he had only wanted to upset her and for a while she had been furious with herself for having played right into his hands. But Vaughn had been quick to reassure her that Sloane had unwittingly convinced her to re-join the CIA, and put a stop to anything he might be involved in or even distantly related to. After three years, it was once again Sydney's burning ambition to destroy the life of the man who had destroyed hers.  
  
TBC. . .  
  
A/N: I got a bit carried away with the flashback, didn't I?! I hope it's not boring or anything, it's just I was having so much fun writing it, I didn't notice how long it had gotten. 


	4. Mission

Could someone please tell me how to do bold and italics? I tried on the last chapter but it didn't work.  
  
Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter. Feedback (positive/negative/anything so long as it's feedback) would make me really happy so please, please REVIEW!!!!!!!!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Didn't I tell you you'd be running around on missions again in no time?" Vaughn asked jokingly as he placed the brown folder on Sydney's desk.  
  
"If this is your idea of 'no time' I'd hate to see what you think does take time" she replied with a smile, purposefully ignoring the documents he had just given her, although she was longing to know where she was going. "Seriously, Vaughn. It's been three weeks. I'm telling you, one more day at this computer and I'll march into Kendall's office and strangle him!"  
  
Vaughn was pretty sure that Sydney was joking, but she said it with such an innocent look on her face that he quickly turned her attention to the task in hand. "You're going to London," he said, opening the folder and taking out a picture of a tall, wiry man with black hair and a thin pointed nose. "This is Jonathan Cauber. He's the manager of this bank." Vaughn pointed to the bank in the background of the photograph. Sydney nodded.  
  
"And you think he has ties to Lloyd?"  
  
"We think so, yes. You remember Kendall said that money had been withdrawn from and account owned by the Alliance members? Well, we've just discovered that less than an hour after that money was taken, money was put into an account in this London bank. Cauber tried to cover it up, but he was a quite careless and we've been able to track the money. We're fairly sure it came from that Alliance account. The only thing is the money deposited in Cauber's bank is only half the amount taken from the Alliance account."  
  
"Then I need to find out if it is the same money, if it was transferred by Lloyd, and if so, what's happened to the rest of the money."  
  
"That's the gist of it. Be prepared though; Cauber won't talk easily, if you find him. He may have fled the country, but he thinks he's covered up the transfer successfully so I'm guessing he'll stay put for now."  
  
Sydney flicked through the other pages in the folder. "Alana Sheldrake?" she asked, when she saw her latest alias.  
  
"Yeah, you're English, and you're there to perform some security checks. He's asked for someone to do that so he should co-operate."  
  
"Right," said Sydney, smiling up at Vaughn. "A normal job." He smiled wistfully at her, understanding that she was still getting used to this life. Sometimes he thought she regretted her decision to come back, but he knew that even if she did she wouldn't say so. Once she had decided to do something, Sydney had a tendency to see it through to the end.  
  
"You leave tomorrow lunchtime," he said, switching their roles back to Agents Vaughn and Bristow (Kendall had decreed, much to Sydney's annoyance, that she must resume the name Bristow while at work, to "avoid confusion". Sydney, in a sudden burst of loathing, had decided that he was trying to point out that she and her husband should behave as though they were merely acquaintances. This notion of Sydney's was not completely unreasonable, as Kendall made his decision five minutes after he had seen Sydney giving Vaughn a quick kiss when she thought no one was looking.)  
  
"Okay. See you later." Seeing Kendall glancing in their direction, Vaughn headed back towards his desk, glancing back to roll his eyes at Sydney as he did so.  
  
* * *  
  
Clothes, make-up, book - not that she would get a chance to read it - comm link, all that other stuff. Sydney grew bored of listing everything she had packed so far.  
  
"That's everything, I think," she muttered to herself, zipping the suitcase closed and pulling it off the bed. Packing used to be an automatic thing but now she had to think carefully and keep a mental list of everything she would need. "I'm so out of practice," she thought.  
  
"Passport." Vaughn said, coming into the room and holding it out to her.  
  
"Oh shit!" Sydney exclaimed, grabbing it from him and shoving it into her hand luggage. "How much would you have killed me if I'd forgotten that?"  
  
He grimaced at her, "A lot."  
  
"What would I do without you?" she said sweetly, stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.  
  
"Guess we'll never know," Vaughn smiled and leaned down to kiss her. Suddenly, Sydney broke off the kiss and pulled away.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
"What now?" Vaughn groaned and pulled her back to him.  
  
"I'm supposed to be going out with Francie tonight. I'll have to call and apologise."  
  
"What are you gonna tell her?"  
  
"I don't know," Sydney sighed, leaning her forehead against Vaughn's shoulder. She looked back up at him. "I can't exactly say I have to go to a teacher's conference in London."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hello?" "Hey Fran, it's me."  
  
"Oh, hey Syd. Are you calling to ask what time we're meeting tonight? Cause, y'know, I told you like fifty million times already."  
  
Sydney took a deep breath.  
  
"Actually, I'm not gonna be able to make it."  
  
"Oh." Francie sounded deflated.  
  
"I'm really sorry," Sydney continued. "It's just. . .well. . . a friend of mine, from work. . . my old work - the bank. . . she's sick, and I need to go visit her." Sydney scowled as she said it, she felt so guilty. This was the worst lie she had told. Recently. Thinking about it she had told far worse lies in the past. But not to a friend. Okay, that wasn't true either; she had lied to Francie and Will many times. But she had never used a "sick friend" as an excuse before, and she hated herself for doing it now.  
  
"Oh my God, is it bad?" Francie sounded worried. Great. First Sydney had cancelled their night out, then she had lied to her about why, and now Francie was concerned about a friend who didn't even exist. "Why didn't I go with teachers-conference-in-London?" thought Sydney.  
  
"Oh no, she'll be fine," Sydney said quickly. "She could just do with some company."  
  
"Oh sure, that's fine. I'm sure she needs you more than me, anyway. I'll do something with Will, and we can go out another time."  
  
"Thanks. I'm really sorry, I'll make it up to you I promise."  
  
Sydney hung up the phone, still despising herself for what she'd done.  
  
"Ready to go?" called Vaughn bringing her suitcase out of their room and standing it by the door.  
  
"Yep," she said and smiled.  
  
Half an hour later Sydney had checked in at the airport and her flight had just been called. She stood up and pulled Vaughn up with her.  
  
"I'll miss you," she said nervously, starting to feel uneasy about her mission. He placed his hands on her shoulders and, ignoring what she had said, replied to what her voice had implied.  
  
"You'll be fine," he said seriously, looking into her troubled brown eyes. She smiled weakly.  
  
"Yeah," she said quietly, looking down. He lifted her chin with his hand, so that she had no choice but to meet his eyes.  
  
"I'll see you on Wednesday," he said. "I'll be here to pick you up." She did not reply, such was her concentration on holding back her tears. Somehow, if she cried, it would make the thought that she might not make it back alive seem more real.  
  
"Syd?" he prompted gently.  
  
"I love you," she said, her voice cracking.  
  
"I love you too," he paused. "Be strong, okay? You're good at this, Sydney, that's why Kendall chose you to do it." She nodded, somewhat reassured by this and the memories of past missions that had been successful. Vaughn gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she bent to pick up her hang luggage. She laughed to cover her anxiety.  
  
"Bye," she said, as cheerfully as she could and then turned and walked to the boarding gate.  
  
"Goodbye," Vaughn said, when she was out of earshot.  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney paid the taxi driver and found herself standing outside an old, magnificent building in the centre of London. She gazed up at the grey structure, as heavy raindrops began to fall. As if by magic, the people around her produced black umbrellas and carried on with their dismal walk back to their offices. With forced confidence, she pushed open the heavy glass door and walked up to the front desk.  
  
"I need to see Mr Cauber," she said, her English accent flawless.  
  
"Do you have an appointment?" asked the secretary, looking up from a magazine.  
  
"Yes. My name is Alana Sheldrake."  
  
"Wait right here please." The secretary, whose name-badge declared her to be Tessa Anthony, went to find Cauber, her heels clicking on the polished floor with every step. After a few minutes she returned with the man from the photograph. He was indeed tall and wiry and had a look of meanness about him that Sydney picked up on immediately.  
  
"Alana Sheldrake?"  
  
"Yes. And you are Mr Cauber?" Sydney feigned innocence as she held out her hand. He shook it and then answered her gruffly.  
  
"Yes. Understand that I have very high security here, and that this," here he paused and plucked the comm link from her ear, "is not allowed."  
  
Sydney felt a shiver run up her spine and back in LA Vaughn gripped the desk, the colour drained from his face.  
  
"You will allow me to contact my assistant with my phone, then?" she asked, forcing herself to retain her confidence.  
  
"I am afraid not," he said, searching her face for a reaction. "He knows," she thought, but she did not give away anything in her face. Satisfied, for the moment, Cauber turned and strode away, Sydney following. He tossed the comm link outside as he passed a window. Sydney followed him around corners, up flights of stairs and along identical corridors, memorising every inch of the way. It occurred to her that he might be purposely leading her along an over-complicated route but then she realised that if he did not trust her, he would not even take her this far.  
  
"I keep the records of every transaction made in this room," he said, pushing open a blue door and escorting Sydney inside.  
  
"I would like to see them, please," she said, in a business-like voice. He handed her a key to a filing cabinet and she began to open drawers and pull out folders. She knew the date she was looking for but she wanted to make it look as though this was a random process. Eventually, she came to the piece of paper marked June 10th 2003. The money supposedly transferred by Lloyd was listed but there was no record of whose money it was. She tuned to him.  
  
"There is a problem with your records, sir."  
  
"What?" he asked, turning sharply to her.  
  
"This one is not complete," she showed it to him, but kept it far enough away that she would have the upper hand if he attempted to take it from her.  
  
"It's a mistake," he said quickly. "I cannot think how it happened." Sydney looked at him sternly, now completely in role.  
  
"You cannot afford to have mistakes like this. It is in my power to report you for this, and believe me; you do not want that to happen. Now, tell me who transferred this money."  
  
Cauber looked distressed, and Sydney felt sorry for him. It was obvious that he had never been in this kind of situation before, and that was unable to handle it. She decided that if he co-operated she would not be too harsh on him.  
  
"Look," she said more gently, and reverting back to her real voice, "I know about Lloyd. I know he took the money from the Alliance account and you're keeping some of it for him. It'll be much easier for you if you just tell me what I want to know."  
  
He looked down at his feet and made no reply. Sydney sighed and took out a pair of handcuffs.  
  
"I'm taking you back to LA where you'll be kept in CIA custody. Maybe you'll talk to some of the less friendly interrogators there." At the word interrogators, Cauber visibly shuddered and Sydney's threat made him cave in, as she had known it would.  
  
"Alright, alright, I'll talk. What do you want to know?" he asked, his voice rising in panic.  
  
"Calm down. I just want to ask you a few questions. So am I right that the money here was taken from the Alliance account by Lloyd?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But not all of it?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You're going to have to give better answers that that," Sydney said, taking out the handcuffs again.  
  
"Okay! I'll tell you anything you want, I swear!"  
  
"Good. Now, where's the rest of the money?"  
  
"He. . . he gave it to the others. The other people. . . who work for him."  
  
"How many? What are their names? WHERE ARE THEY?" Sydney knew she had to keep this man afraid of her to keep him talking.  
  
"Four. There are four others. I don't know who they are, only Lloyd knows."  
  
"Okay, so what are they doing for him?"  
  
"They're all looking after something," he hesitated. "Something important to him"  
  
Sydney inhaled sharply. This next question was important, and it was vital that she got the answer.  
  
"What are they looking after?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Cauber. You've said too much already. If you don't tell me, I will take you back to CIA custody where they will torture it out of you."  
  
"There are four disks. Each one of them contains information about Lloyd - what he's planning to do, where his resources are, that kinda stuff. Each of the others is holding one of the disks."  
  
"If we find the disks, will we be able to stop Lloyd?"  
  
"Maybe. They have to be in a specific order."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know. I was never told."  
  
"WHY?"  
  
"I don't know! I don't. . . I don't." Cauber sank down on the floor, his head in his hands. "I told you everything I know, please just go."  
  
Sydney thought for a while and then decided that he was telling the truth. She regarded him sadly. The poor man had just been through what was probably the most traumatic experience of his life, although having said that, Sydney had no idea what techniques Lloyd had employed to convince Cauber to work for him.  
  
She turned to leave and, just before she opened the door, a wave of pity over-came her and she turned back to him.  
  
"Thank you," she said, and left. She thought about it during her flight back. She had never thanked someone for information before, usually because she had such a hard time getting it that she ended up beating it out of them, and when she let them get off as easily as Cauber had done, she was more owed than owing.  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, Sydney was back in the Ops Centre, standing behind Vaughn as he showed her something on his computer screen.  
  
"Agent Bristow, Agent Vaughn. There's someone I'd like you two to meet." Sydney and Vaughn turned to see Kendall standing behind them with a young woman.  
  
"This is Agent Marie Henley. She will be working with the two of you from now on."  
  
TBC 


	5. Marie

Yay! It's the Easter holidays now so that means more time for writing. Well, in theory anyway. I have to study for exams in the summer so it may mean much less writing :(  
  
Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter, please keep reviewing!!  
  
Oh yeah, please can someone tell me how to do bold and italics?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Marie was small and pretty, she could not have been more than twenty. Her shoulder-length black hair hung loosely, held off her face by a little silver clip above her right ear. Her olive skin and almond-shaped eyes suggested that at least one of her parents was Oriental and Sydney made a mental note to ask her about it sometime.  
  
"You're Agent Sydney Bristow," Marie said. "I've heard a lot about you," she added shyly. Sydney laughed, embarrassed.  
  
"I guess you don't wanna break protocol as many times as I have, huh?" Sydney smiled at Marie, realising that the young Agent had probably been told about all the times she had broken rules and done things without permission from her CIA superiors.  
  
"Oh no!" Marie gasped, taking Sydney's joke seriously. "I'm really impressed by what I've heard. You've achieved so much, I only hope I can be as good as you are."  
  
Sydney felt slightly guilty that Marie seemed to be so eager have this sort of life. A part of her wanted to tell the young woman what she was getting herself into, but another part of her was unwilling to ruin Marie's high expectations and bring her dreams crashing down. Kendall shot Sydney a harsh look and she knew he was warning her not to pass on her recklessness to his newest recruit. She was tempted to tell Marie that sometimes the best decisions were made in the heat of the moment and often the best way to do things was the most dangerous and CIA-protocol-breaking way there was. Vaughn noticed the mischievous twinkle in her eyes and held out his hand to Marie, putting a stop to further conversation between the two women.  
  
"I'm Agent Michael Vaughn-" he paused, hesitating over his next words. "Agent Bristow's handler." When he saw that Marie was not gushing with praise of *him*, he turned to Kendall.  
  
"Is Agent Henley going to be working on the Lloyd case with us?"  
  
"Yes. I trust that won't be a problem?" He raised his eyebrows, daring them to protest. "I know there is a substantial amount of research to be done, using our latest intel. Agent Bristow, show Agent Henley what we've got so far."  
  
Sydney nodded and turned back to Vaughn, waiting for Kendall to leave.  
  
"Now," he said and shot a meaningful glance at Sydney. He stalked off in the other direction and Sydney sighed.  
  
"Come on, Marie." Marie followed Sydney over to her desk, next to which another desk had been cleared for the younger Agent. As they walked, Sydney filled Marie in on the case and the intel she had gained in London.  
  
Sydney gave Marie some folders to look through to familiarise herself with the work, while Sydney herself continued to meticulously search databases and records for any hint of the whereabouts of Lloyd or his associates. After a while Marie glanced up.  
  
"So, this is stuff is really dangerous, huh?" she asked timidly.  
  
"Yeah." Sydney replied. It was a stupid answer, but what else was she supposed to say? No, it's not at all dangerous-the guns and fighting techniques are all just for show? She remembered her first mission for SD- 6; she had been so scared. But at the same time she had been excited and willing. She had believed that she was risking her life for the good of her country. At least for Marie that belief was true.  
  
"Hey, it's not all bad," she said, on seeing Marie's wide-eyed and innocent stare. "Mic - Vaughn always plans my missions really carefully. I mean like, obsessive-almost-to-the-point-of-ridiculous careful." Sydney could not help the soft smile that came over her features when she thought of her husband. "He'll do the same for you. We both will." She smiled warmly at Marie and they both returned to their work.  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm going home now. You won't be too long will you? Francie and Will are coming over tonight." Sydney put a hand on Vaughn's shoulder as she spoke and glanced casually at the news report on his computer screen.  
  
"Okay, sweetie. How are you getting on with the research?"  
  
"Still nothing," Sydney frowned. This nothing-ness was driving her crazy. She couldn't believe that Cauber's intel hadn't helped them at all. She *wouldn't* believe it. "How about you?"  
  
"Yeah, nothing all round," Vaughn sighed, rubbing his hand across his forehead. Absent-midedly he read a few lines of the report. "Hey, what's this?" He sat up straight in his chair, staring at the computer screen as if one of the images had just leapt out of the screen onto his desk.  
  
"Although the location of the disk is not known, it can be traced and local police are working to find the thieves. It is believed to be of very high value to the man shown below. At present the reasons for this are not known." Sydney read over Vaughn's shoulder. He scrolled down until a picture came into view. A picture of Henry Lloyd. "That's it. That's gotta be it, right?" she said breathlessly, pulling up a chair to sit beside him. "Is there a way we can find it?"  
  
"It was stolen from a bank in Paris. It was in a locked safe, in a vault, in a high security bank. I think we can assume that whoever took it knew what they were doing. It's gonna be pretty hard to find it."  
  
"But this is huge, right? How do we start?" Sydney was impatient to bring Lloyd to justice. Vaughn, apparently, was less so.  
  
"I don't know. I'll talk to Kendall now. You go home, there's nothing more we can do yet. Besides, you can't cancel on Francie again." Sydney frowned but recognised the sense in what he was saying. She sighed.  
  
"Okay,"  
  
"I won't be long," Vaughn assured her. As she left he printed out the article and went off to show Kendall his lucky break.  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney had almost finished setting the table when Vaughn arrived home.  
  
"What did he say? How long will it take to find?" she asked, nearly dropping the bowl of salad she held. Vaughn stepped forward quickly to rescue the salad, which Sydney managed to catch by herself anyway. He took it from her hands and placed it in the centre of the table before answering her question. She followed him with her eyes and he could feel the intensity of her gaze even though his back was turned.  
  
"It's going to take a while. Weeks, maybe, if we work fast." Sydney was dismayed but this latest setback only increased her determination.  
  
"Then we'll work fast," she said firmly. There was no time for more discussion because Francie and Will chose that moment to ring the doorbell.  
  
Sydney went to greet her friends, plastering a smile onto her face as she did so.  
  
"Hey guys," she said affectionately, hugging them each in turn.  
  
"I haven't seen you for ages!" exclaimed Francie. This was not strictly true. Francie and Sydney had seen each other only a week ago but in the world of Francie Calfo, for reasons unfathomable to anyone else, a week constituted a long time. Sydney laughed and apologised again for having cancelled their night out.  
  
"Hi," said Vaughn, coming over to stand next to Sydney. More smiles were exchanged as they made their way over to the table. The evening passed in laughter and jokes, Sydney was positively glowing as she laughed at a story Will was unfolding, complete with impersonations and hand-actions, and she enjoyed the warmth of friendship that transformed the house. Vaughn saw how happy she was and marvelled at the change in atmosphere that had taken place as soon as their friends had stepped through the door. The tension and worry that had pervaded their conversation was gone, replaced by a sense of carefree delight and timeless joy.  
  
"How are things going with Sophie?" Sydney asked Will, once the laughter had subsided and talk had turned to more serious matters.  
  
Will frowned. "She went to stay with her parents for a week. . . a month ago. That's never good."  
  
Sydney laughed a little at his laid-back attitude but then smiled sympathetically.  
  
"Well, maybe if you'd called her once in a while, instead of complaining to me about how she never called *you*, she wouldn't have left," offered Francie, with a smirk.  
  
"Wasn't meant to be, I guess," smiled Will, leaning back in his chair.  
  
"Oh, Syd. How's your friend?" Francie asked suddenly.  
  
"Which friend?" asked Sydney, looking up questioningly.  
  
"You know! The one you went to see when she was ill!"  
  
"Oh, um, yeah she's fine now." Sydney said wishing to avoid this conversation as much as she could. Sensing his wife's discomfort, Vaughn turned the conversation to business, engaging Francie in a series of questions about her restaurant. Thankful to have the attention turned away from her, Sydney listened in silence, nodding in agreement in the appropriate places. Towards the end of the meal, they were interrupted by a phone call.  
  
"I'll go," said Sydney, rising from the table. The other three continued their conversation, but Vaughn kept one eye on his wife. He could not hear her conversation but he could tell by her body language that something was wrong. Up until then, she had been perfectly relaxed but now her shoulders were tense and her pose just screamed apprehension.  
  
She returned to the table, the smile firmly back on her face. She looked at her watch.  
  
"I'm really sorry," she began. "I'm gonna have to leave. I have a. . . meeting that I need to go to."  
  
"At 9:00 at night in the middle of the summer vacation?" joked Will. Sydney smiled weakly.  
  
"Yeah, Syd, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were working for that bank again." Francie observed casually. Sydney laughed lightly at her friend's joke, but her laugh was a little too forced and to the inquisitive ears of Will Tippin, it was all that was needed for realisation to hit. He stared at Sydney open-mouthed as she grabbed her car keys and made for the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that night, Sydney and Vaughn were curled up together watching an old movie on TV. The meeting had been about the new intel and how best to use it. Sydney had been furious at the way they had demanded her presence when she was not really needed, but she had since calmed down - the day's excitements and stresses had taken their toll on her. She sighed contentedly and wriggled closer to Vaughn. He smiled down at her and lightly kissed the top of her head, his fingers caressing her back.  
  
"Mmmm" Sydney murmered, as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Gently and carefully, Vaughn lifted her in his arms and carried her to their bedroom. She awoke for long enough to get herself changed and crawl into the bed next to Vaughn. Sleepily, she rolled into his arms and rested her head on his chest. He pulled her closer to him and they remained in each other's embrace until morning. 


	6. Disk One

Firstly, thanks for the reviews (as ever).  
  
Ryanne, I decided on Agent Bristow because I thought it would be much less confusing than having two Agent Vaughns. I realise now that I didn't handle the CIA's behaviour towards Syd and Vaughn being married very well, I'll try to clear that up a bit in this chapter - thanks for pointing it out. Oh and yeah, you're right, Francie thinks Sydney used to work in a bank. I've read a few spoilers (due to reading far too much fanfiction for my own good) so I kinda know that something's gonna happen with Francie but I'm in the UK and the last ep I saw was Salvation so my fic goes from there.  
  
Second, people reading this, please read my other fic "My Immortal". I'm kinda proud of it cause I think it's my best one (even though I wrote it at 2:00 am when I couldn't sleep!) I know it's not that good compared to other stuff here, the standard of writing here continues to amaze me!  
  
Anyways, before this A/N gets longer than the chapter itself, please read, enjoy, review :)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sydney, can I talk to you about something?" Will glanced over his shoulder as he spoke, uneasiness etched on his face.  
  
"Sure," Sydney said, looking at him a little worriedly. Francie and Will were helping Sydney to re-decorate her kitchen as she was on a rare week- long break from the CIA. Francie had just left the room, taking boxes full of kitchen utensils, an unused kettle balanced precariously on top of a toaster ensuring that Francie kept her eyes on the things she was holding rather than where she was going. The kettle had been a wedding present from some well meaning, but tasteless, friends of Vaughn's but neither Sydney nor Vaughn had had the heart to throw it away.  
  
"You know that phone call you got. . . when we were having dinner. . ." said Will, skirting around his point. Sydney was surprised. That evening had been about three weeks ago, and she had assumed that if Will had harboured any suspicion of her, he would have confronted her about it long ago.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Are you working for the CIA again?" he asked quickly, only just resisting the temptation to screw his eyes tightly shut before he had to see her reaction. Sydney took a few seconds to think about how to answer his question. Had Will been building up to asking her about this for three weeks? Her delay was enough of an answer for the ex-journalist. He knew only too well that silence could speak louder than words. Realising that he knew the truth anyway, Sydney decided to explain.  
  
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, they were interrupted by a loud crash immediately followed by a scream as Francie miscalculated the distance to the living room and went straight into a wall.  
  
"I'm okay!" she called, disentangling herself from the various pots and pans under which she was buried.  
  
"Are you hurt?" asked Sydney, worried by the dramatic crashing and clanging of metal on metal she had heard from the kitchen.  
  
"Nothing a few hours exposure to paint fumes won't cure," Francie replied brightly.  
  
Sydney bent down and began to pick up everything Francie had dropped. She was glad to get out of a potentially uncomfortable situation with Will, but decided to tell him the truth the next time they were alone.  
  
* * *  
  
A week later, with the knowledge that she had a newly decorated kitchen and that having undertaken none of the decorating himself, Vaughn would be taking on the tedious task of putting everything back into place, Sydney returned to the CIA.  
  
"Morning, Sydney," said Marie shyly, but with a big smile on her face. She had settled in very well at her new job, but she still looked up to Sydney and was always shy around her, thinking that she was in some way inferior.  
  
"Hey Marie," Sydney smiled, helping herself to a coffee and following Marie over to their desks. "You're looking very happy this morning," she remarked as she switched on her computer and placed the cup of coffee on her desk.  
  
Marie sat down opposite Sydney and switched her own computer on before replying.  
  
"My boyfriend's taking me on holiday tomorrow," she grinned.  
  
"Have you asked Kendall? Where are you going?" Sydney was enthusiastic to share in her friend's happiness.  
  
"Yeah. He said I've been working so hard since I got here that I deserve a break," Sydney raised an eyebrow. She had had to beg and plead with Kendall to get the last week off. She wondered briefly why Marie was such a definite favourite of his, but then she thought, more realistically, that it was because she could be spared that Marie was allowed to have time off. "I have no idea where we're going. Mark - that's my boyfriend - wants to keep it a surprise. It's so romantic!"  
  
Sydney nodded in agreement. "Speaking of," she said standing up to give Vaughn a hug, though they had parted barely ten minutes ago.  
  
"I don't know where you two think you are," said Kendall coming up angrily to the little group of agents who were doing anything but their jobs, "but some of us, and by that I mean you three, have work to do. And some of us," here he paused dramatically and glanced at Marie, "will not be getting holidays if we don't do any work today."  
  
Scared, Marie turned to her computer, willing to look at anything rather than at Kendall. Sydney and Vaughn rolled their eyes, each daring the other to let out the laughter they were both holding in. Sydney broke first and had to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling like a little girl and Vaughn shot her a triumphant glance as he returned to his desk.  
  
* * *  
  
"Syd!" Vaughn exclaimed, rushing up to her desk. "We've found it! We've traced the disk!  
  
"Really?" Sydney almost knocked over her coffee - her third cup of the day - as she jumped up from her seat. "What? How?"  
  
"Don't ask me how I did it, I've lost track everything I've done on that search." (A/N: yes, that is just me being too lazy to come up with a plausible explanation for how they found it. You'll have to get used to that with this fic, I'm afraid. This writing about missions and the like is hard! I'll do my best but you may have to cope with a few more sudden bursts of selective amnesia)  
  
"It doesn't matter, anyway." Sydney quickly brushed the matter aside and continued questioning Vaughn. "Where is it? Are we going to get it?"  
  
"It's been taken to a vault in a museum in Luxembourg. I've only just found this out, I need to show it to Kendall before anything gets decided." Vaughn couldn't help smiling at Sydney's impatience. Her enthusiasm was one of the things that had first attracted him to her. Even at their first meeting in the warehouse she had been bubbling over with anticipation and eagerness for action and as their friendship grew steadily stronger and developed into love, her enthusiasm had only risen to new heights.  
  
* * *  
  
"Marie, what's the matter?" Sydney asked, when Marie returned from making her phone call. They were leaving for Luxembourg in a few hours and Marie had had to cancel her holiday with Mark. She made a feeble attempt to smile and brush away the tears that were falling steadily down her face.  
  
"I told Mark that I couldn't go on holiday with him anymore. He asked me why but I couldn't tell him the truth so I said I had to work. Then he said I should just come anyway and I said no and he got angry and said he'd had this planned for ages and I was ruining everything. . . and then I said that if he knew what kind of stuff I did at work maybe he'd thank me," Sydney was startled. She had said something similar to Will before he knew what she really did. Marie continued, between sniffs and sobs. "So then he got even more angry and said it looked like I valued my job more than my relationship and I said I'd call him when I got back from the business trip. Then he just put down the phone." Sydney put her arms around Marie and let the younger girl cry on her shoulder for a moment. In a few hours they would need to have a strictly professional relationship, but for now they could be friends.  
  
Kendall interrupted them, the ever-present frown deeply engraved on his face.  
  
"Agent Bristow, my office now," he barked. Sydney glanced once more at Marie before following Kendall. "Agent Vaughn, I want to speak with you please," he said as they passed Vaughn. Vaughn looked bewildered, but followed next to Sydney.  
  
"How come I get an 'Agent Bristow, my office now,' and you get a polite request?" she teased, quietly enough that Kendall would not hear them  
  
"Because you're so much more disobedient than me?" Vaughn replied innocently.  
  
When they entered his office, Kendall did not delay but went straight to his point.  
  
"Since you do not live here, I assume that you two have a house which you live in together," Sydney looked at Vaughn, wondering where this was going. He looked back at her equally confused. "Your relationship here must be completely professional, in future will you please use your house to be married in and your place of work to be handler and asset in. Recently, the two of you have been behaving in an entirely inappropriate manner and if you cannot restrain yourselves I will assign you, Agent Vaughn, to another case and it may not be this side of the country. Am I making myself clear?"  
  
Sydney glared at Kendall. It wasn't fair that he could dictate their behaviour like this but there was nothing either of them could do about it.  
  
"Yes sir, we understand," said Vaughn, keeping his face straight although he was angry inside.  
  
"Agent Bristow?" Kendall was clearly waiting for her to make a response. She nodded slowly and then left to prepare for the mission.  
  
* * *  
  
"Marie!" Sydney hissed, trying to get her attention. Marie was engrossed in disconnecting a security alarm without alerting anyone to their presence, a frown of concentration on her face. Marie finished and then looked up enquiringly, just in time for Sydney to motion silently for Marie to stay still. Marie flattened herself against the wall and held her breath. Sydney was further back, in the shadows - if the security guard came past he would see Marie immediately but Sydney was well hidden. As the guard's footsteps faded, Marie relaxed. They stayed there without moving for several minutes while they assessed the guard's progress back and forth, deciding how best to get past unnoticed. Sydney was creeping stealthily forwards. She moved so noiselessly that Marie didn't notice until she was at her side, her mouth next to Marie's ear.  
  
"Move quickly and quietly, don't turn around," she whispered, slipping past Marie so that she was nearly in the corridor. Marie was ready to follow at Sydney's order. "Now." Sydney's hushed command set Marie's heart racing. This was her first mission and her immense fear combined with a desperation to succeed was almost enough emotion to knock her off her feet. They made it around the corner without major mis-hap and leaned against a wall to catch their breath. Sydney grinned at Marie, the blood coursing through her veins filling her with exhilaration and excited nervousness. She had forgotten this feeling. Before she knew the truth about SD-6, it was one of the things she loved most about her job but when she was working to bring down Sloane and the Alliance a part of her had hated it, and the other part had hated herself for loving it. Now she was free to enjoy the rush of adrenaline that surged through her and for a few moments she forgot that she hated this life, she forgot that as soon she was finished with Lloyd she would be resuming her life as Mrs Vaughn The Teacher, and Agent Bristow The CIA's Best Spy would be laid to rest for the final time.  
  
Once they had recovered from their fast but silent sprint down the long corridor and around the corner, Sydney and Marie turned their attention to the door that led to the vault. The security guard by the door had his back to them. Sydney nodded at Marie, and Marie raised the tranquilliser gun in a shaking hand. She aimed and swallowed to soothe her dry throat. Hand still shaking violently from the fear and pressure she was under, she fired. Her hand was so shaky that she very nearly missed, but she had been trained well and the guard went down, never knowing who or what had hit him. Sydney ran up to him and grabbed the key card out of his pocket. She pushed it into the slot next to the door and then held the door open for Marie before removing the card. Marie was still recovering from her experience with the tranquilliser gun and only stared wide-eyed at her friend in response to Sydney's whispered "Well done." They hurried along the hallway and when they came to another door, Sydney set up her phone to get the code they would need to enter. Years of practice meant that Sydney did this with great ease but instinct meant that she glanced over her shoulder every few seconds, even though Marie was keeping watch a few metres away. Eventually, Sydney had all five numbers and called Marie back to her.  
  
"Syd, hurry up. They've got the surveillance back." Vaughn's voice came to her over the comm link and she could not help the sharp intake of breath when she heard what he said. Sydney yanked the door open and pulled Marie through with her. They ran to the door of the vault and began to set up the explosives they were going to use to blow open the door. They worked quickly and efficiently and were soon ready. They stepped back and Sydney pushed the detonator. She flinched as the door was blown apart and Marie instinctively brought her arms up over her head.  
  
"Okay, we're in," Sydney informed Vaughn.  
  
"Right. Shutting down the lock system in three. . . two. . . one. You guys have two minutes to find the disk and get out of there." The CIA had found out that everything in the museum vault was locked away, but that all the locks were operated by the same system. A system that could be temporarily shut down by the CIA. However, exactly two minutes after it was shut down the vault room would be filled with a poisonous gas - a gas that would kill the two women in seconds.  
  
Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. . . Sydney counted in her head without even thinking about it.  
  
Sydney and Marie began to pull open the white drawers that occupied the entire vault. They worked swiftly but methodically, yanking open drawers, not bothering to close them when they saw the contents.  
  
Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty. One minute up.  
  
Sydney wrenched open a drawer and rifled through the contents. "Why do I feel like I'm breaking into someone's house and going through their private stuff?" she thought to herself, with a slight smile.  
  
Eighty-nine, ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two. . .  
  
"Got it!" Marie turned around, disk in hand, to grin triumphantly at Sydney.  
  
"Great. Lets get out," Sydney said, already running out of the vault. Marie followed, stuffing the disk into her bag as she ran. They did not stop until they were a safe distance from the vault. When they allowed themselves time to recuperate, Sydney glanced at Marie and noticed the way her eyes sparkled. Her pride and happiness was obvious in her face and Sydney smiled at her. Marie had evidently forgotten about her fight with Mark. That was what the adrenaline rush would do to you, Sydney thought.  
  
* * *  
  
A few days later, Sydney and Marie were at their desks chatting and exchanging news of their weekends. Marie had called Mark as soon as they had returned from Luxembourg and they had spent the weekend together, both profusely apologetic for their first major argument. Sydney had spent the weekend relaxing with Vaughn and helping Francie out at the restaurant. Moments later they were called to a meeting. Jack Bristow had spent the entire weekend analysing the disk and had made great progress with the case.  
  
"Well done Agent Bristow, Agent Henley," he said in his usual gruff manner. "The disk you brought back is, in fact, disk one. It contains information on Lloyd, his associates, his plans. However, this information is only partial. I'm assuming that this is why there are three other disks. Each one contains some of the information, ensuring that none of Lloyd's associates could do him any harm. Very clever really. The disk also contains part of a code. We'll need the other three disks to complete the code, of course, and we have no idea what it's for but this is a good start." 


	7. Disk Two

Francie does not know that Sydney used to work for SD-6 or the CIA, sorry if I didn't make that clear. Thanks for the reviews, please, please keep reviewing - it'll make me write much faster. Hopefully. School started again today so I may have to write even less than I do now.  
  
Last night's ep was The Passage Part 1 here in the UK. Awww, how sweet was that Syd/Vaughn scene with the watch?!  
  
Yay! Chapter 7, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while! So, read, enjoy, review :)  
  
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Summer drifted lazily into autumn and day by day the search for the next disk continued. Sydney threw herself wholeheartedly into her missions and during the lull that came between retrieving Disk One and finding Disk Two she made herself useful in other cases. Marie always accompanied her, as the younger agent needed all the experience she could get, and Sydney was glad of the company. As time passed, the two women became very close and each learned to trust the other with her life. The leaves, which turned golden and fell from the trees, escaped Sydney's notice, as did the shortening days and longer nights. The night before she was due to leave for a mission, she glanced at the calendar that hung next to the fridge and was shocked to find that the school year started the next day. Looking at the clock, she decided it was not too late to call the principal and explain. But what was she supposed to say? She couldn't tell him the truth - that was for sure. Nervously, she dialled the number and waited while it rang.  
  
"Adam Croft speaking, who's calling?"  
  
"Sydney Vaughn."  
  
"Hello, Sydney. What's the matter?"  
  
"I can't come in tomorrow," Sydney winced as she said it and hoped that her nervousness did not come across in her voice.  
  
"Why?" He sounded annoyed.  
  
"I have a. . . erm. . ." she was struggling here, desperately looking around for inspiration.  
  
"You have a what?" He was definitely annoyed.  
  
"A sick friend." Sydney shut her eyes and leaned her head back in self- loathing. She could not believe she was doing this again.  
  
"Oh dear, I hope it's not too bad." Principal Croft sighed.  
  
"They're not sure yet. She's on the other side of the country, I may need to be with her for a few days." Sydney decided that, since she was sitting here lying her head off, she might as well get as much time off as she could. She would work hard for the CIA this week and then go back to teaching after that. She knew that she would have to make a decision soon but she could get away with lies and excuses for the time being.  
  
"Oh, by all means, take as much time as you need. We'll get a substitute teacher until you get back. I think my wife knows someone who's looking for work." Sydney felt guilty that Principal Croft was being so reasonable about this. She almost wished that he would shout and make it more difficult for her because then maybe she would feel better about lying. Seconds later, Croft shattered any thought of getting off lightly. "However," he continued, "I have to warn you that if this kind of thing continues we'll have to replace you. I don't want to do that, Sydney. You're a good teacher and the kids love you, but that won't stop me from getting a teacher who can at least come in on the first day of the year."  
  
"I understand," she said quietly, sadly.  
  
"Sydney, understand that if it was only your interests at stake, I would keep you on. But I'm running a school here and kids that young need a steady teacher."  
  
"Oh yeah, I totally understand. It won't happen again, I promise." She regretted that as soon as she said it. She was in no position to promise things she had no control over. As she ended the call and put the phone down, she wondered how she would ever get this to work. Could she work weekends and evenings for the CIA and weekdays at the school? No, that was stupid. Her job at the CIA was not a normal nine-to-five job. It was an unpredictable, must-be-ready-to-fly-off-at-a-moments-notice kind of job and it would be almost impossible to hold down a steady teaching job as well, wouldn't it? She wondered if anyone had ever been an agent for the CIA and had a normal job as well.  
  
* * *  
  
"Kendall wants to see you," Marie informed Sydney before perching herself on the edge of Sydney's desk. Sydney groaned.  
  
"Any idea why?" she asked. Kendall always wanted to see her for one reason or another. His obsession with separating her from Vaughn while at work was still going strong and he regularly called them in to remind them of his threat.  
  
Marie shook her head. "It might be something to do with your mom," she offered. "He said he wanted to start using her intel again, didn't he?"  
  
"Maybe," Sydney was not convinced. "That was last week though, you'd think he'd have gotten over it by now. One way to find out, I suppose." Sydney sighed and stood up. Marie gave her a friendly grimace as she hopped off the desk and went to get a cup of coffee.  
  
Reluctantly, Sydney pushed open the door to Kendall's office.  
  
"You wanted to see me?" she said, coming to stand in front of his desk.  
  
"Yes," he said slowly and she could see by the expression on his face that she was not going to like what he said next. "We'd like you to talk to Sloane. We've been working on deciphering the code on Disk One and we believe, if we've deciphered it correctly, that there are references to the Alliance, and Sloane in particular."  
  
"What? No!" Sydney's first reaction was one of outrage. Whatever she had been expecting, it was certainly not this.  
  
"Agent Bristow, when I ask you to do something, I don't expect you to refuse. Are we forgetting that Agent Vaughn would be equally good at his job if he was in, oh say, New York?"  
  
"You can't do that," hissed Sydney angrily.  
  
"Oh, you'd better believe I can," Kendall said, his voice low and dangerous. "Get Sloane to tell you everything he knows. It may not be much, but I'm sure he knows something."  
  
"And if he won't talk?" Sydney asked, glaring at Kendall, her disgust clear in her voice and eyes.  
  
"You'd just better hope he does." On hearing this, Sydney shot Kendall a final glare before stalking out of his office  
  
* * *  
  
Taking a deep breath and clenching her fists, Sydney forced herself to walk steadily up to Sloane's cell. He turned as he heard the heavy clanking of the bars lifting to allow her through and his lips curled into a cruel smile when he saw who his visitor was. Sydney shuddered inwardly, but did not let her feelings show. She would not appear to be affected by him this time; he would not have the upper hand again. She stepped cautiously up to the glass partition that kept him away from her and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"Sydney," he said quietly and slowly, completely in control of his emotions and giving no thoughts or feelings away in his voice. "How nice of you to come by."  
  
"We have intel which leads us to believe that you are involved with Henry Lloyd and whatever he's trying to do."  
  
"Ah, it's not a social call. How disappointing," Sloane fixed his eyes on Sydney's and studied her face carefully. She was unnerved by his manner of speaking. Everything he said was said slowly and with precision, as if he had spent weeks planning for this conversation and was accurately predicting her responses. "I suppose it was naive of me to think you would come to see me when you didn't want something. Tell me, do you ever visit your mother without being forced to?" This was evidently Sloane's favourite part of the conversation. He raised his eyebrows and looked deep into Sydney's eyes. Then he shook his head. "I didn't think so. It's a shame, Sydney. She could have taught you so much." This last part was said cautiously, as if he was not sure what Sydney's reaction would be. He noted her quick intake of breath and he was almost certain that he saw her eyes begin to cloud with unwanted tears. However, she rapidly regained her composure and began to ask questions. Her questions were in vain though. She would ask a question, he would reply with a sarcastic answer, or a comment on her life or work. They repeated this endless cycle for what seemed like hours. Eventually, Sydney lost her patience.  
  
"Tell me what you know! You have nothing to gain by lying or keeping this from us"  
  
"I have nothing to gain by telling you the truth. You're not going to let me go," he said coolly.  
  
"What you'll gain is that you won't have to have the answers tortured out of you." Sydney fixed him with an icy, but emotionless, stare and waited for him to respond to this. His reply sent her thoughts reeling.  
  
"And who's going to ask to have me tortured, Sydney? Will it be you?" he nodded, the cruel smile playing at his lips once again. "You'll sit and watch as I scream out in pain, but you won't get your answers. They'll keep on and on cutting into me but I won't give in, and you'll be watching. Because my torture will be on your orders and you won't be able to tear your eyes away even though it kills you inside. Can you do that Sydney?" he regarded her for a moment before continuing, a dangerous glint in his cold, unfeeling eyes. "No, of course not. If you torture me, you'll become just like me. And just like your mother." Sloane spat the words "your mother" contemptuously then turned his back to Sydney, indicating that he would not answer any more questions.  
  
Sydney was at a loss for what to do. Sloane clearly knew something, what it was she did not know, but that he did have intel was written all over his face and implied in every smug word he uttered. She knew she could not torture him, or even ask for him to be tortured. His words had struck a nerve in her and, as much as she hated him, she also believed them to be true. She was prepared to get the intel from another source if it meant she avoided becoming a cold-blooded killer. Another source. For an instant, Sydney fought a mental battle. There was another source. It was possible that Irina Derevko knew as much about this case as Sloane did. Sydney decided that, however unwilling she was, this was for the good of the country. Besides, she thought, the sooner she got this case over, the sooner she could return to her quiet, normal life.  
  
The last time Irina Derevko had seen her daughter, Sydney had broken down and Irina had comforted her. For a tiny moment they had simply been mother and daughter, but this time the atmosphere between them was strained and uncomfortable. Sydney was ashamed at the way she had behaved before, Irina was resentful that her daughter, whom she had felt a bond with if only for an instant, did not come to see her more often.  
  
"What do you want to know?" asked Irina, in the same soft, lyrical voice that she used whenever she spoke with her daughter. Sydney was saddened by the voice. She remembered Laura Bristow, who had told her bedtime stories and sung to her in the same voice. Although Sydney did not seem to be affected at all, inside she was crying. Crying for the little girl whose mother had died in a car accident, crying for the little girl's father who was so distraught by his wife's death that he could barely look at his daughter and the little girl cried too because every time she came here it felt like her mother had died all over again. Irina knew none of this and waited patiently for another opportunity to regain her daughter's trust.  
  
"Do you know anything about Henry Lloyd? Anything about the disks, what he's planning to do, Sloane's involvement. Anything." It had become almost a plea. Irina seemed unsurprised by Sydney's question and replied without removing her eyes from Sydney's face. She could see some of her own characteristics in her daughter, and not just in her looks. She possessed the same headstrong recklessness that Irina herself had been severely reprimanded for many times during her work for the KGB, and she also had a strong sense of loyalty. Irina had loyalty, in her own way. It had not been for her family, for the people who mattered, but it was there nonetheless. As she looked at Sydney, she knew that her daughter already used their shared qualities for a much better purpose than Irina had ever done, and she felt a strange sense of pride in looking at the person she had so much in common with, yet at the same time so little.  
  
"Sloane was the holder of Disk Two until he was brought in here." Sydney's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"How do you know?" she asked, amazed.  
  
"That is irrelevant. When you're in this business as long as I am you learn these things."  
  
"But. . . that would mean that Lloyd's been planning this for over four years. . ." Sydney said, half to herself. She was stunned by how important these disks must be if they had been made so long ago. "Wait a minute, why would Lloyd give one of the disks to Sloane? They had a disagreement. . . Lloyd left the Alliance. . . this doesn't make sense."  
  
Irina shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know why, I just know," she said.  
  
Sydney nodded, her mind working fast to take in the information she had just been given. "So, where's the disk now?" she asked. "Sloane must have hidden it somewhere, he didn't have it with him when he was brought in here because it would have been taken away from him."  
  
"When Sark worked for me, he mentioned something about a disk. I believe it may be the one you're looking for. It was supposedly hidden in a medical research centre in Athens. Sark went to retrieve it, but," she shrugged again, "he did not find it. That's all I know."  
  
Sydney looked up at her mother and smiled. "Thank you," she said softly.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sark raided the medical centre four years ago. It must have been around the time Irina Derevko was brought in here, or a few weeks earlier. He broke into an underground vault under the main part of the centre but, as your mother told you, he didn't take anything." Sydney nodded. Her anger at Kendall had subsided and she listened patiently as he informed her of what their next move would be.  
  
"We believe the disk is still there; that it was never in the vault but rather kept in a Dr. Alan Clyde's personal safe," continued Vaughn. "Clyde has ties to Sloane and has been involved with him in past operations so we think Sloane may have asked him to keep the disk for him."  
  
"So, this Dr Clyde. . . do we know where this safe is likely to be?"  
  
"He has an office there where he apparently spends a lot of his time. If it's anywhere in the centre, that's where it'll be." Sydney nodded again before Kendall proceeded to outline the mission.  
  
* * *  
  
Marie rapped lightly on the door of Dr Clyde's office. He opened the door himself, and after looking her asked her who she was. She informed him that she was a medical student from America and was interested in his latest project. He seemed surprised that someone would show any interest in his work, and opened the door to let her in with a wide grin.  
  
"How about a tour of the Centre?" he offered. Marie looked at her watch. She knew she mustn't take too long if they were going to make it out of the Centre undetected. He saw her uneasy glance and offered to shorten the tour to just his latest work. She agreed and he led her off in the direction of the laboratory. From her position crouched behind a trolley of equipment, Sydney watched them until they turned the corner. As soon as they were out of sight, she crawled out from the small space she had occupied and quickly picked the lock to the door of Clyde's office. Once inside she began to search the room for the safe. She worked quickly and precisely, looking behind every picture on the wall and every book on the shelves. She was careful to leave everything exactly where she found it. The Research Centre was like a rabbit warren full of pristine white corridors and they would need all the head start they could get to return safely to the extraction point. Eventually, she found it. It was in a strange place for a safe - very near the floor behind the books on the lowest shelf of the bookcase in the corner of the room. It did not take long to unscramble the code, and soon Sydney had pocketed the disk, which was indeed being kept in the safe. Irina had seemed pretty sure that this was the disk they were looking for, and since it was in an envelope written on in Sloane's handwriting, Sydney was pretty sure that her mother was right.  
  
Sydney returned to her cramped hiding place behind the trolley and waited for Marie to return. Her endurance was soon rewarded as Marie and Dr Clyde returned only a few minutes later.  
  
"Thank you very much, sir," drawled Marie as she shook his hand. "I sure am impressed. Your work is real good." He grinned at her again and let himself into his office, failing to notice that the previously locked door was now unlocked because he was completely delighted that Marie had praised his work so much.  
  
The two agents quickly began to make their way back through the maze of corridors.  
  
"Did you get the disk?" Marie asked, as they turned the corner away from Clyde's office.  
  
"Yeah," Sydney smiled. They continued in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, they heard a guard behind them. He was asking them to stop. "Split," Sydney whispered when she saw they were coming to a junction in the corridors. The guard continued to yell at them. Sydney took the right corridor, and Marie peeled off to the left. The guard stopped in the middle, unsure which of them to follow or if he should even follow either of them. Both women were running now, trying to work their way out as fast as possible. Sydney turned corner after corner until she was sure she was going round in a circle. Marie did the same until she saw someone about to turn the corner. He was definitely not an employee of the Research Centre, as was shown by his black clothing and the rifle he carried. In a moment of panic, Marie darted into the nearest room, which was luckily empty. There was nowhere to hide there, so she stood uncertainly in the middle of the room, waiting. The man in black came closer, looking into each room as he progressed down the corridor. He came to Marie's room, just as she turned her back to the door to assess the possible escape routes.  
  
Sydney continued to work her way through the endless white labyrinth of corridors.  
  
"Drop your weapon!" Sydney froze. She looked around her but could see no one. The voice was coming from a room to her left. She edged closer to the door and pressed herself against the wall next to it. Turning her head to the side, she could see a man. He had his back to the door and was pointing a weapon at someone else in the room. Risking a glance through the window, Sydney could see that the weapon was aimed at a woman who also had her back to the door. Sydney recognised the woman immediately - it was Marie. She withdrew her head instantly and flattened herself against the wall again, listening intently to what went on.  
  
Inside the room, Marie had dropped her gun to the floor and now had her hands in the air next to her shoulders.  
  
"Hands behind your head!" he ordered. Marie hesitated. "Now!" Marie did as she was told and slowly placed her trembling hands behind her head, her fingertips barely touching.  
  
"Now turn around. Slowly!" he barked. Once again, Marie obeyed. She slowly turned to face him and gasped when she saw him.  
  
"Marie?" he asked, his voice painting a picture of shock and wonder.  
  
"Richard!" she exclaimed, her voice rose in terror and it was plain that, though she was surprised, she was not pleased to see him.  
  
Out in the corridor, Sydney's hands flew to her mouth to prevent herself from gasping, her eyes wide in shock.  
  
TBC. . . 


	8. Revelations

I'd just like to say a big thank you to Ryanne because you review every chapter and it means such a lot to me to know that at least one person is still reading this!  
  
Thanks to anyone else who's reviewed as well :)  
  
Sorry this is a bit short, it was longer but I decided it would be better to put some of it in the next chapter.  
  
Anyways, here's chapter 8 so read, enjoy, review :)  
  
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"Wh - what are you doing here?" stammered Marie, once she had recovered from her shock.  
  
"I would have thought that was obvious," retorted the man, who was apparently named Richard. "I work for Henry Lloyd. Or did you forget that? A better question to ask would be what are *you* doing here?"  
  
Marie looked down at the floor and then raised her head to meet his questioning stare, a look of steely determination in her eyes. "I'm working for Lloyd too," she said finally.  
  
* * *  
  
Outside, Sydney held her breath as if the sound of her breathing would make them aware of her presence.  
  
* * *  
  
"No you don't." Richard stated, and he raised the rifle to point it at Marie again, having come to the conclusion that she posed a threat. "You left Lloyd two years ago. Did you think he wouldn't tell me?"  
  
Marie continued to glare defiantly at him. "I know that's what it looked like, but believe me when I tell you that I'm still working for him," she said. "We had to make it seem like I'd left because of the nature of the work I do. I wanted to tell you, Richard. Really, I did. . . but I just couldn't. It would have been too dangerous, for both you and me. The night I left. . . after the argument. I never got to tell you I was sorry and I've regretted that ever since. Lloyd came to see me, but I suppose he told you that." Richard nodded and Marie continued. "I was upset. I told him about our fight. . . I didn't go into details or tell him what it was about, but I told him that I wanted to leave his organization. Hell, I wanted to leave the *country*. He persuaded me to go on working for him but he agreed to move me. He offered me another job he had in mind and I left for China that night. He said I couldn't say goodbye to anyone. . . that no one must know where I was going or what I was doing. I wanted to tell you, but I was scared. I was so afraid of what he would do to me if I didn't obey him," Marie began to cry quietly as she relived her past. "I was so afraid and you weren't there to comfort me like you always did when I was a little girl." As if he was stone before and had now been magically made human, Richard let his weapon fall to the floor and pulled Marie to him. He rocked her gently as she cried against his shoulder.  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney listened intently to what went on behind the door. She was finding it difficult to piece together this strange puzzle. Who was Richard? How did he know Marie and why did they seem to have such a love-hate relationship? What was this secret job Lloyd had given to Marie? She soon found out.  
  
* * *  
  
Once she had regained her self-possession, Marie continued with her story. "I was in China for a year. I did not see Lloyd once during that time so my courage grew and I began to forget what it was that I once feared about him. I was bored with the assignment he had given me so I gave it up. I didn't tell anyone I was moving on; I simply got on a plane to Chicago. Lloyd found out, of course, as I had known he would, and he demanded to meet with me. I complied with this request and informed him that I wanted to do something new. He offered me a new job in Los Angeles. It was a long-term job and would offer me plenty of opportunities I would never have had otherwise. I accepted his offer: I am a double agent at the CIA. That's why I'm here - I'm on a mission to retrieve Disk Two. Now," she said, moving closer to him with her hands on her hips. "Why are you here?"  
  
Richard looked around him uneasily before replying. He wasn't sure what to say. If he said that Lloyd had sent him, Marie would be sure to know that he was lying. But he couldn't tell the truth because it would be the first thing she told their employer as soon as she saw him. After weighing up his options for a few seconds, he opted for the truth.  
  
"I'm holding Disk Three for Lloyd, but I'm sure you already knew that." Marie nodded, waving her hand as an indication for him to continue. "Like you, I'm tired of waiting for Lloyd to tell me what to do. I want to do things my way. I've come here to retrieve Disk Two. I've already got Disk Four. I figured if I can get all the disks, I'd be able to use them just as easily as Lloyd will when he gets them all," Richard paused, unsure whether he should carry on or not. "Listen Marie, you have the first two disks and I have the other two. If we work together we can do this now. No more waiting around for Lloyd. Just us. We'll divide the money between us and leave all this behind."  
  
Marie seemed torn between two opinions, each fighting for control of her. Eventually, she relented. "Okay," she said and led Richard to a desk at the back of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Hurriedly, Sydney switched on the comm link so she could talk to Vaughn. She could just about hear the conversation now that they had moved away from the door, but they were speaking in hushed voices and in language Sydney did not understand. It sounded like Chinese but Sydney did not recognise many of the words. After a few seconds of ineffectively trying to make sense of their conversation, she backed away from the door a few paces so that they would not hear her speaking.  
  
"What's the matter, Syd?" Vaughn asked frantically. "Why aren't you at the extraction point yet?"  
  
"We got held up," said Sydney vaguely. "Listen, I think Marie's a double agent. I think she's working for Lloyd."  
  
"What?" Vaughn exploded. "Syd, why do you think that?"  
  
"I heard her telling someone. A man she called Richard. . . I didn't get a last name. She knows him. . . I don't know how. Anyway, she told him she was working as a double agent at the CIA."  
  
"Where is she now?" Vaughn asked desperately.  
  
"She's in a room with him. I'm in the corridor outside. I was listening by the door but they're speaking in another language now. It sounds like Chinese or something. Vaughn, what should I do? They're planning to work together, and leave Lloyd behind. He said he had Disks Three and Four and Marie said she can give him Disks One and Two."  
  
Vaughn rubbed his hand across his forehead in panic. "Who's got Disk Two? Syd, please tell me Marie didn't get it."  
  
"No, no. I have it," she assured him.  
  
"Well, whatever you do, *do not* let her get her hands on it."  
  
"Of course I won't. I'm not stupid!"  
  
"Sorry. I know, it's just. . . oh Syd, be careful."  
  
"What am I supposed to do?" she hissed.  
  
"Wait outside until she comes out, but not right near the door. You have to pretend that you didn't hear anything. If she thinks you suspect her she might get dangerous. Syd, please promise me you won't try to do anything until you get back to LA."  
  
"Okay. I won't," she sighed.  
  
"Don't let her leave your sight. We'll have a team to pick you up at the airport and she'll be arrested when you get back."  
  
"Okay. . . Vaughn?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'll be careful. I will," she said firmly. "Oh! She's coming out," Sydney walked past the door and continued walking slowly down the corridor when she heard Marie moving towards the door. The door clicked open and Sydney spun around.  
  
"Marie!" she exclaimed. "This place is like a maze. I think I know the way out though." Marie nodded; she seemed somewhat shaken after her encounter with Richard. If she was suspicious that Sydney appeared not to notice that she came out of a room, she did not show it. They wound their way through corridors and eventually exited through a door that brought them mere feet from the car they were getting to the airport. Sydney glanced at Marie from time to time, hoping that Marie's face would betray her. Sydney hated to think that Marie had lied to her, that while Sydney had so easily trusted Marie she was using all their intel to work against them. She wished that she was wrong, that she had misheard the conversation, or that she had made it up completely but she knew that thinking like that was too dangerous. It was better to be aware that Marie was a danger to her than to be blind about it.  
  
A long, uncomfortable flight later, Sydney and Marie were leaving the plane. Marie walked slightly in front of Sydney and Sydney kept a close eye on her. The first person Sydney saw was Vaughn. Behind him stood a few other agents in casual clothes, obviously attempting to blend in. Sydney went straight to Vaughn and he took her in his arms. A wave of relief washed over him as he kissed her hair gently, glad that she was safe.  
  
Meanwhile, two of the other agents sauntered casually over to Marie who stood a few feet away from Sydney and Vaughn. She looked slightly puzzled at this and when she looked questioningly up at the one nearest her she was shocked that he discreetly slipped a handcuff around her wrist. She struggled a bit but he put his face close to hers and warned her not to make a scene. He then handcuffed himself to her and led her away to the car. Sydney watched sadly as her friend was taken away.  
  
"I can't believe this," she whispered softly to Vaughn.  
  
"Me too," he returned. "Marie seemed so. . ." the sentence was left unfinished. They both how deceptive appearances could be.  
  
* * *  
  
Marie was locked in a cell similar to the ones occupied by Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko. It saddened Sydney to see that she was now seen in the same light as them and she found it difficult to come to terms with the revelation that yet another of her friends was not quite what she seemed. It did not take long for an interrogator to get information from Marie. She insisted that she was not a double agent, she pleaded that she had been lying, but no one believed her. When it came down to Sydney Vaughn's word against Marie Henley's, Marie didn't stand a chance. She was not tortured; it was not necessary. She told her interrogator the exact location of Disks Three and Four and assured them that she had not given away anything about where the first two disks were being kept or about the information on them. When she had nothing left to tell them, she was no longer considered a priority and was left in her cell, alone.  
  
Jack Bristow, predictably, did not trust Marie's intel and told Kendall that they had no reason to believe that it was true. Kendall, predictably, argued that they should go to retrieve the disks anyway. Jack said that it could be a trap; Kendall said they'd have to take that risk, and the argument ended only by the arrival of Sydney. She sided with Kendall and persuaded her father that if Marie really was a double agent, they needed to find the remaining disks as soon as they could. Jack realised the sense in this and agreed that a team should be sent, providing that Sydney was not a part of it. She argued with him for a while and then reluctantly agreed.  
  
Everyone's nerves were on edge the day the team went to find the disks. If Marie had been lying, they would be no closer to finding Lloyd and they would lose many valuable agents if it was a trap. On the other hand, if Marie had been truthful, the intel could be huge. Sydney was torn in half. One half of her, the rational half, understood that Marie was not who Sydney had thought she was. She had used Sydney as a way to get information and if Sydney had not found out, things could have turned out a lot worse. But there was another part of her, the part that refused to give up on her friend, who wanted desperately to wake up and realise she had been dreaming.  
  
Determined to put herself out of her misery, Sydney resolved to talk to Marie, in the hope that if she actually confronted Marie about the situation, she would no longer doubt what she had heard but would accept that she had lost another friend.  
  
TBC. . . 


	9. Loose Ends

Thanks for the reviews :)  
  
For Ryanne, and anyone else who's confused, I've decided to do a recap of all the important stuff.  
  
The CIA wanted Sydney to work for them again because there was money taken from a bank account known only to the original Alliance members, one of whom was Henry Lloyd (he left the Alliance because of a disagreement and was never seen or heard from again). Sydney found out that there are 4 disks, which Lloyd has given to 4 different people to keep for him. Syd found the first one and on it was information about Lloyd, his contacts etc. There was also part of a code on it. The CIA need the remaining disks to find out what Lloyd is trying to do and to complete the code. As for Marie. . . well you'll just have to wait and see!  
  
I hope I haven't left anything out, if I have feel free to ask. I had just finished writing this chapter and I managed to delete about four pages of it. I was so frustrated when I rewrote it that I know it's not as good as it originally was, but I'm hoping to get this fic finished before my exams start so that doesn't leave me much time for deleting pages and pages of what I thought was good work.  
  
Please, please review!!!!!!!!  
  
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An apprehensive silence descended over the Ops Centre while everyone waited for news of the mission. The usual background noises were there, but inconspicuously so; phones ringing, printers spewing sheets of paper with irrelevant messages on them, the occasional hesitant cough that refused to be stifled. Sydney sat down with a heavy sigh at Vaughn's desk as he paced the floor in front of her. She couldn't bring herself to sit at her own desk, because she knew she would be forced to look at Marie's unoccupied seat and the empty space which had been cleared of her belongings.  
  
Vaughn glanced over at her, slightly worried. He tried to smile reassuringly but it came off more sympathetic than anything. Sydney didn't mind - she was grateful that he made the effort.  
  
"You look really tense" he remarked, moving to stand behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"I *am* really tense," she said, managing a weak smile. He smiled back and began to massage her shoulders, slowly and rhythmically. She closed her eyes and momentarily allowed herself to forget about everything that was happening. Vaughn smiled softly to himself when he felt her relax and wished everything would always be so easy.  
  
Suddenly the noise level rose from a low lullaby of murmurs, to a frantic buzz of activity. Sydney's eyes snapped open and she shot up straight in the chair. Vaughn paused, his hands resting on Sydney. They exchanged a hopeful glance and went to join the throng of people gathered in the middle of the room.  
  
"What's going on?" demanded Sydney, tired and impatient from all the worry and anxiety.  
  
"The mission was successful!" said Kendall, shooting a triumphant glance at Jack. Never one to admit he was wrong, Jack simply folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "The team are on their way back," continued Kendall. "If any of you have things you want to do, I suggest you do them now because we have a hell of a lot of work to do." He glanced briefly at Sydney before pulling Jack to one side to talk about what was to be done.  
  
Sydney sighed; she knew she had something important to do and now she did not have an excuse to put it off.  
  
"I'm gonna talk to Marie," Sydney told Vaughn, silently seeking his support. He understood and pulled her to him in a gentle embrace. She drank in the warmth and comfort he provided her with until she felt almost dizzy with love for him. Though she wanted to remain in his arms forever, Sydney reluctantly tore herself away from him. She smiled a little sadly at the prospect of officially losing another friend, although she knew she had never had Marie's friendship in the first place.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey," said Sydney, twisting her hands together uncertainly. Marie looked up, surprised.  
  
"Sydney! Hi!" She was enthusiastic, but her eagerness soon subsided when she realised what Sydney must think of her. "Wait!" she interjected, as she saw Sydney open her mouth to speak. "Don't say anything. Just - just let me explain." Sydney hardened her face when Marie began to speak but she could not help the wave of pity that overcame her when Marie pleaded for a chance to explain.  
  
"I know what you must be thinking, and I know you probably won't believe a word I say, but I'd like to try anyway. Your friendship means so much to me, Syd, and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to save that." She paused and Sydney nodded slightly for her to continue. "You heard me talking to Richard, so you know that I know him. . . God, I don't know where to begin with all this." She trailed off and covered her tear- stained face with her hands.  
  
"Try starting from the beginning. It doesn't matter how long it takes," Sydney offered gently, when she saw how difficult this was for Marie. Marie raised her head and smiled softly.  
  
"My mother died shortly after I was born. I never knew her so I didn't miss her at all, but my father did. He missed her so much, and I think I reminded him of her. He was an American and we left China only a few days after my mother's funeral. When I was a young child, he could hardly bear to look at me. He died in a plane crash when I was four. I didn't miss him much, he had never given me anything to miss," she laughed bitterly before carrying on. "I was brought up by a friend of my father. . . Richard." Sydney was shocked, but did not allow it to show. It certainly explained a few things about Marie's relationship with Richard. "He was so good to me. I loved him in a way I had never even loved my father. He played with me, read to me, took me on trips to the park and the zoo. He had no wife or children of his own and I quickly became his whole world. When I left school he provided me with a job, in an office. You know, I never even thought to ask what the company did - I just dealt with statistics. Eventually, I found out that it was a company very much like SD-6 was and a man named Henry Lloyd was the head of it. I went to see Richard that evening and told him I was quitting. Lloyd came to see me, as I told Richard the other day, but I told him pretty much the same thing. Thankfully, I didn't have any problems getting away - I didn't let Lloyd know that I knew the truth. I came to the CIA a year or so later, I guess it was an attempt to wash away the sin I had been unknowingly involved in. Sydney, I'm not a double agent! I had to say that or he would have killed me. He loved me once, but all that disappeared when I refused to obey him. By convincing him I could give him the disks we have I got him to tell me where the other ones were - I assume that went well?" she paused in her story to look up enquiringly at Sydney.  
  
"Yeah, it did," Sydney said automatically. She was preoccupied with trying to take in everything Marie told her. She reminded herself time and again that she should not take Marie's story at face value, but Marie's earnestness and the open apology in her eyes seemed genuine. After fighting a fleeting mental battle, Sydney decided to believe Marie.  
  
"Sydney, you've got to believe me," Marie said desperately. "I'll do anything to prove I'm not lying."  
  
"You told us where the disks where," Sydney said softly.  
  
"So. . . you believe me?" Marie asked, almost incredulously.  
  
"Yeah, I do," Sydney smiled. Marie released a breath she did not even know she was holding. She smiled back.  
  
"Wanna get out of there?" Sydney asked, a grin spreading across her face as she realised that she had her friend back. That she had never lost her to begin with.  
  
"I actually kind of like it," Marie said before grinning happily at Sydney. "Of course I do! What are you waiting for?" she exclaimed when Sydney looked at her, slightly puzzled. Sydney laughed and went off to convince the right people that Marie should be released.  
  
Marie's imprisonment did not last much longer - Kendall had watched the whole of her conversation with Sydney and had himself come to the conclusion that she was telling the truth.  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney sighed exasperatedly when she found herself back at her much-hated CIA computer. The information from all the disks had been collected and divided up to make analysing quicker and easier. In theory, anyway. Sydney was not doing very well with her share of it. Marie, who was not faring much better, looked up and smiled sympathetically.  
  
"How are you getting on?" Sydney asked, although she knew the answer.  
  
"Not great," replied Marie. "There are loads of references to this one building in Brazil, but I can't make any sense of it." They returned to their work, after exchanging an understanding smile.  
  
"You wanna swap?" Sydney asked at length, when she realised that she still hadn't made any progress.  
  
"Gladly," Marie said, popping the disk out of her computer. Sydney did the same and each passed the disk to the other.  
  
An hour later, they were called to Kendall's office.  
  
"We've got most of the information we need to take down Lloyd," said Kendall, beaming at his agents with a look of pure pride on his face. If she had not been preoccupied with elation at the thought that this would soon all be over, Sydney would have found his expression incredibly funny and Vaughn made a mental note to remind her of it later. "We know what the weapons are and that they're still in an early stage of production. However, we still don't know where they are so until we do we can't do anything. No one is to rest until we find those weapons."  
  
"Um. . . I think we may be able to help there," Marie began shyly, indicating herself and Sydney. "There were a lot of references to a building in Brazil on one of the disks we were searching."  
  
"Let me see that," demanded Kendall. Marie went to fetch the disk with alarming speed. She pushed it into Kendall's computer and for an agonizing few minutes there was silence as he read through what was on it. The silence was broken by the sound of the printer. "Jack, see what you can do with this," he said, handing the piece of paper to Jack, who took one look at it and walked out of the room. Sydney glared at Kendall, itching with impatience and longing to follow her father. It was obvious that Kendall had no intention of telling them his suspicions until Jack had finished. Everyone stayed late that night; working, talking, speculating about what would happen.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day, Vaughn and Sydney returned to work, having had very little sleep. They had stayed working longer than everyone else, Sydney determination to do her job and Vaughn's determination to support her overruling any need to rest either of them had. When they had finally gone home, neither had been able to relax. Sydney yawned her way through her debriefing with Kendall. It was lucky that Marie had also been there because she could not remember more than two sentences he had said. Marie briefly outlined the meeting for her: the weapons were in Brazil as they had thought, Lloyd was there too, but only for three more days so they would be making their move soon but if Agent Bristow yawned one more time Kendall would send her alone and weapon-less to Brazil right now.  
  
"He said that?" giggled Sydney. "How did I not even hear my own name? I must have been almost asleep!" Marie laughed and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Vaughn creep up behind Sydney, a finger to his lips indicating that Marie should not warn her. Sydney jumped in shock when Vaughn tickled her from behind.  
  
"Kendall said I have to keep you awake," he grinned at her when she turned around to hit him playfully.  
  
"Oh he did, did he?" Sydney asked, raising her eyebrows when she saw Vaughn stifling a yawn. "Did he also tell you that for you to do that you have to be awake yourself?" Vaughn smiled back at her and put his arm around her waist, steering her towards her desk.  
  
"Come on, back to work," he said, twisting around to talk to Marie.  
  
"And here I was, thinking you just wanted to spend time with us," Sydney said with a mock irritated sigh.  
  
The little group broke up as Kendall came towards them.  
  
"You three go home and get some rest. We leave for Brazil tomorrow." Sydney calmly bent down to pick up her bag from the floor by her desk, but inside she was very high-spirited. Tomorrow! In a days time this would all be over! She wondered what she wanted to do when it was finished. Would she stay at the CIA? Or carry on teaching? She quickly pushed all thoughts of the future to one side. They would only be a distraction on this mission.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, on three." Kendall was positioned in an inconspicuous car outside the building, where he could monitor the building's surveillance and also communicate with his agents.  
  
"One," Sydney tightened her grip on the rifle in her hand.  
  
"Two," Vaughn scanned the area below him - a laboratory - and saw Lloyd walking around with a decided air of superiority.  
  
"Three!" Agents appeared from everywhere and nowhere. Some grabbed the unsuspecting Lloyd and forced him outside. Sydney jumped down into the lab and made her way over to the door behind which was the room where the weapons were being developed. She made quick work of the door's security system, which was separate to the rest of the building's, and wrenched the door open. Once inside she began to download data and files from the computers. Meanwhile, the other agents got everyone out of the building, making sure that no one escaped.  
  
After an agonizing few minutes, Vaughn saw Sydney emerge from the room. He had insisted on staying behind until Sydney was out; it was his way of making sure that she was safe. He grabbed her hand and together than began to run. They crashed through a big window just as the building exploded. Aside from a few minor cuts and scratches from the glass, they landed unhurt.  
  
* * *  
  
Lloyd was arrested, along with many of the other people working in the lab. On the journey back to LA, Sydney reflected that she had done her job well and realised that she now only had a few loose ends to tie up. Vaughn understood that she wanted to be alone, to think things through, so he and Marie were playing cards with a few other agents at the other end of the small plane. As Sydney sat in solitary silence, staring out of the window, Kendall came and sat beside her.  
  
"Sydney," he said companionably.  
  
"I have some things I'd like to talk to you about," she began, a little uneasily.  
  
"Go ahead," he smiled. Sydney realised that she had never seen him like this. He was relaxed and she could almost imagine that, given the right circumstances, or the right people, he could probably be quite friendly.  
  
"Well, first of all, now that this is finished. . . well, I'm not sure if I'll be coming back." Kendall drew in a sharp breath.  
  
"I was expecting this, to tell you the truth," he confessed.  
  
"I don't know yet," continued Sydney, "I mean. . . I am *considering* staying with the CIA," she paused, waiting to see if he would try to persuade her. When he didn't she pressed on. "I'd like some time to think about it. Is that okay?"  
  
"By all means, you can have the week off. Agent Vaughn too. You both deserve it." Sydney smiled warmly at him.  
  
"Thanks," she said. She wrung her hands nervously. "I have some conditions though."  
  
"What are they?" Kendall asked suspiciously, only just managing to keep up the friendly façade.  
  
"Number one: no more threatening to move Agent Vaughn. We will try to behave appropriately, but you must allow us to comfort each other or support each other whenever it's necessary."  
  
"Fine by me. You've both proved your worth recently, and I don't think your relationship will ever be able to stop you working to the best of your ability."  
  
Surprised by his easy acceptance, Sydney carried on.  
  
"Second, no more secrecy," Sydney paused again. "I know, I know, security and all that," she continued hastily when Kendall's eyebrows shot up, "but I'm not a double agent anymore. That was the main reason people couldn't know, wasn't it? I don't want to have to lie to my friends about what I'm doing or where I'm going and if you make me, then I'm going back to my teaching job."  
  
Reluctantly, Kendall agreed to this as well. He was determined not to lose one of his best agents.  
  
"Anything else?" he asked. A mischievous twinkle appeared in Sydney's eyes. She had only planned to ask for two things, but she had got them so easily that she became more adventurous.  
  
"More time off would be nice," she ventured.  
  
"Don't push your luck," Kendall grinned.  
  
"Oh well, it was worth a try," she laughed, settling down more comfortably in her seat. The remainder of the flight was passed in amiable chatter but by the time they arrived in LA, Sydney felt that she was still no closer to finding an answer to her big decision.  
  
TBC. . .  
  
A/N: The next chapter will be the last one, so I want to get everything that needs explaining in this one. If anyone had a question that I didn't answer, please let me know and I'll re-do this chapter to add it in. Thanks. 


	10. A Defining Moment

As ever, thanks for reviewing the last chapter and, as this is the final chapter - thanks to everyone who's ever reviewed!  
  
The last part of this chapter is in Syd's POV. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it.  
  
So here it is, the last chapter. Enjoy!  
  
Just gonna do a quick "previously on" cause you've probably all forgotten something that's mentioned in here  
  
"Cauber looked distressed, and Sydney felt sorry for him. It was obvious that he had never been in this kind of situation before, and that was unable to handle it. She decided that if he co-operated she would not be too harsh on him."  
  
Hehe, that was a bit pointless but I just thought I'd have a little reminder :)  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The delicate breeze kissed Sydney's face and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. The air was a warmish kind of cool, as if the half-risen sun could not decide whether to continue its steady climb or to sink below the horizon for an extra hours' sleep. Sydney relished the feel of the sand beneath her feet as she walked along the deserted beach. She had left Vaughn in the car, wishing to be alone for a while, and he had understood - his willingness to stay behind helped a little by his need to catch up on the sleep neither of them had had.  
  
As she walked, she concentrated on the decision at hand. However, all thoughts of work were soon abandoned as the rapidly rising sun threw colours of every shade and hue into the previously grey sky. Pink, purple, orange, yellow. The sheer beauty every morning brought always amazed Sydney and she stood watching in awe as the sky was painted before her eyes. It was as if the performance was purely for her benefit, for there was no one else around to see it. Gradually, the colours melted together to form a cloudless blue, and the day had begun.  
  
She had always worked methodically, and this was no exception. Weighing up the pros and cons, she began to sift through the reasons to stay at the CIA and the reasons to go. First of all, there was the knowledge that she was good at being a spy. It was no secret that she was one of the Agency's best agents, and she would have been lying if she said that she didn't like the feeling that gave her. After all, it was natural to enjoy being good at something. . . but did being good at deceiving people really count? Of course it did, she was serving her country. Glossing over that, Sydney moved onto the next reason to stay: the adrenaline rush. Sydney was decidedly an adrenaline addict. Although she rarely had time to think about how she was feeling when she was actually feeling it, she loved the excited fear she felt when disarming a bomb, her heart hammering in her chest. Being on a mission was the only way to feel that, she was quite sure, and now that she had tasted it again she wasn't sure if she wanted to let go. The proud feeling of accomplishment when she achieved something big was something else again. But when she thought about it, that feeling was not exclusive to CIA agents - she had felt it many times as a teacher, when her entire class managed to get full marks on a spelling test or when, after weeks of rehearsing with them, they had all been word-perfect in the school play.  
  
Now she was torn. She loved those children so much, and she wanted to teach them and protect them. But wouldn't she be protecting them if she worked for the CIA? None of them knew what the CIA was, or what they fought against. The kinds of evil that existed outside the realm of fairytales and Disney movies. People whose master plan was not to kidnap a princess, but to blow up a building, killing innocent people. If she returned to the CIA, Sydney would be protecting them from that kind of evil and this, she thought, was something worth considering. But she had been so proud of being a teacher, so proud of herself that she had even told her mother. Was all that work and happiness going to be wasted? She didn't want to give it up, because she knew that she would never be as happy at her CIA-Ops-Centre-same-as-everyone-else's-desk as she would be in her own classroom, surrounded by colourful charts of multiplication tables, maps of the USA and the world, pictures and stories which had earned a place on the wall by her desk, and most of all the enormous wall display about the rainforest. She smiled when she thought of it. It took up the entire back wall of the classroom, and had taken an impressive three days to put together. The class had been relieved of their lessons to help and Sydney and the children had loved every minute of it. Big trees, with crêpe paper leaves and filled with bright parrots painted in every colour of the rainbow, framed a rich green background which was hardly visible for the assorted animals sprawled across it. It didn't matter that the animals, drawn by the seven and eight year old class, hardly resembled animals at all but were more a mass of colour, with two clack dots for eyes and a grinning mouth. As soon as you stepped up to that wall, you could sense the love and time that had gone into it, and you just knew that it was special.  
  
The sun was climbing steadily higher in the sky, and Sydney was no longer alone on the vast stretch of golden sand. A few early-risers were about, looking forward to a day on the beach with their families or friends. She began to think of all that had happened since the start of the summer, and her first day back at the CIA. There had been Cauber, right at the start. She had forgotten about him, but she remembered now and realised how unhappy he must have been. He hadn't wanted to be involved with Lloyd, but he had somehow ended up in the middle of things. She thought that through for a while, and came to the conclusion that she knew a lot of people like that. First and foremost, there was herself. She had been programmed to be a spy when she was only six years old and a part of her would never forgive her father for trapping her in the life of lies she had suffered for so many years. Then there was Will. He'd had it worse than her, she figured. At least she hadn't known until it was too late that this life had not really been her decision. She wondered what it must be like to be forced, for your own safety and life no less, into the life of espionage and deceit.  
  
Her thoughts were broken when she felt Vaughn's arms slip around her waist. She had been so deep in thought that she had not noticed him coming up behind her.  
  
"How goes the thinking?" he asked with a smile, kissing her neck gently between his words.  
  
"I still haven't made a choice," she said, frowning.  
  
"You have a whole week yet,"  
  
"I need to decide now though. It's going to drive me crazy until I do, you know I won't be able to think of anything else until I know which direction I'm going to take my life in," she replied seriously.  
  
"I wish I could help you," he said, wistfully.  
  
"Maybe you can," he was surprised by the simplicity with which she said it. Sydney had always believed that she needed to make these kinds of choices by herself. Somewhere along the line she had picked up the idea that if people influenced her choices in life, she would always wonder what she would have chosen if she had been left to work things out alone. This was unsurprising, perhaps, since her previous, SD-6-filled life, had mainly been decided by other people, namely her father.  
  
Sydney interrupted Vaughn's thoughts when she continued speaking. "What am I fighting for?" she asked.  
  
"You mean at the CIA?"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"Only you can answer that, Syd."  
  
"But I don't know. It used to be Danny. When I started working there I was fighting for revenge. . . revenge for Danny's death."  
  
"I know," Vaughn said quietly. "But that changed didn't it?"  
  
Sydney nodded. "What are you fighting for?" she asked suddenly.  
  
Vaughn took a few seconds to think. "Partly you," Sydney's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Vaughn seemed to sense it, because he explained. "I was fighting because you were. You wanted to bring down SD-6 so desperately, because of what Sloane did to you and to Danny. I wanted to help you, because I loved you from the moment I saw you, and I wanted more than anything to see you happy. Eventually, that became fighting so that we could be together when SD-6 was gone."  
  
Sydney smiled. "What else were you fighting for?"  
  
"What else?"  
  
"Yeah. You said it was partly me. What was the other part?"  
  
Vaughn let go of Sydney waist and stood beside her, looking out over the glittering ocean. "Revenge," he said at length.  
  
"For your father's death?" Sydney asked gently. He nodded.  
  
"A part of me never got over his death, and never will. Even though I've come to terms with your mother's part in his death, there's still something inside me that wants to bring destruction to anyone and everyone involved."  
  
"I used to be like that - about Danny, I mean," Sydney said, sadly. "But then I realised something."  
  
"What?" Vaughn asked, interested.  
  
"Revenge is pointless, because in the end it's too late for those of us already involved."  
  
They both stood, contemplating Sydney's words as the sun crept up in the sky and the waves lapped soothingly up onto the sand. As the minutes passed, their breathing became synchronized with the movement of the water. The waves tumbled over each other onto the shore and a silent breath was drawn in; a silent breath released as the waves were pulled reluctantly back to the shimmering mass of water. Amidst the soothing tranquillity, Sydney made her choice.  
  
* * *  
  
I guess we all have a defining moment; when we realise who we realise who we really are or that something is truly worth fighting for. That morning on the beach, I saw things I had never seen before - things I have been surrounded by for years but never noticed. In the rosy light of the rising sun, I looked at Michael and I saw that there are good people in the world. People who simply want to love and be loved in return. People who have no place being tangled up in the dangerous web of games we play but who become trapped regardless. Those are the people worth fighting for and I know I have made the right decision.  
  
My name is Sydney Vaughn and I am an agent for the CIA.  
  
THE END  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
So. . . what do you think? You all know the drill - feedback makes my world go round so please, please REVIEW!!!!! 


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